Pepperell Receives $190,000 as State Awards $4.6 Million in Restoration Grants

PEPPERELL — July 13, 2022 — Pepperell hosts $4.6 million state ecological restoration grant ceremony at Kyes Parker Conservation Area. Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Beth Card and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ron Amadon announced $4,635,000 in grants at the July 13 outdoor event, covering three Division of Ecological Restoration programs: $1,820,000 to 13 municipalities through the Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance Grant Program, $600,000 to three regional restoration partnerships, and $2,215,000 to 15 priority projects statewide. Pepperell received $190,000 specifically for construction and field data collection at three additional culvert replacement sites along Sucker Brook, extending work already completed at the conservation area. Card pointed to Governor Baker's pending Forward Act, which proposes $2.3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds for climate infrastructure, including $1.2 billion for environmental and energy projects, and called the legislation "time sensitive" given its ARPA funding source. Select Board member Tony Beattie recognized Pepperell's conservation agent, Paula, as the driving local force behind the town's grant success.